Celebrated crime master and two-time Edgar Award winner James Lee Burke returns with a gorgeously crafted, brutally resonant chronicle of violence along the Texas-Mexico border. Sheriff Hackberry Holland patrols a small Southwest Texas border town, meting out punishment and delivering justice in his small square of this magnificent but lawless land. When an alcoholic ex-boxer named Danny Boy Lorca begs to be locked up after witnessing a man tortured to death by a group of bandits, Hack and his deputy, Pam Tibbs, slowly extract the Indian man’s gruesome tale.

Rain Gods: A Novel

When Hackberry Holland became sheriff of a tiny Texas town near the Mexican border, he'd hoped to leave certain things behind: his checkered reputation, his haunted dreams, and his obsessive memories of the good life with his late wife, Rie. But the discovery of the bodies of nine illegal aliens, machine-gunned to death and buried in a shallow grave behind a church, soon makes it clear that he won't escape so easily.

Lay Down My Sword and Shield

Against the backdrop of growing civil rights turmoil in a sultry border town, the hard-drinking ex-POW attorney Hackberry Holland yields to the myriad urgings of his wife, his brother, and his so-called friends to make a bid for a congressional seat - and finds himself embroiled in the seamy world of Texas powerbrokers.

The Vanished Man: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel, Book 5

Forensics expert Lincoln Rhyme is called in to work the high-profile investigation of a killer who seemingly disappeared into thin air just as the NYPD closed in. As the homicidal illusionist baits him with grisly murders that grow more diabolical with each victim, Rhyme and his protégée, Amelia Sachs, must go behind the smoke and mirrors to prevent a horrific act of vengeance that could become the greatest vanishing act of all....

Cimarron Rose: A Billy Bob Holland Novel, Book 1

Texas attorney and former Texas Ranger Billy Bob Holland has many secrets. Among them is Vernon Smother's son, Lucas, a now-teenaged boy about whom few know the truth - Lucas is really Billy Bob's illegitimate son. When Lucas is arrested for murder, Billy Bob must confront the past and serve as the boy's criminal attorney. Billy Bob knows the propensity of the town, Deaf Smith, Texas, to make scapegoats out of the innocent and to exploit and sexually use the powerless.

Bitterroot

Billy Bob Holland's friend, Doc Voss, has been battling against a local mining company whose operations would severely threaten the area's economy. Despite Voss's best efforts, the mining interests make it clear that they will resort to any means to see that Voss backs off. What Billy Bob doesn't know is that one member of the pro-mining faction is Wyatt Dixon, a recent prison parolee intent on exacting revenge for his imprisonment and his sister's death, both events he believes were Billy Bob's doing.

Heartwood: A Billy Bob Holland Novel, Book 2

Heartwood is a kind of tree that grows in layers. And as Billy Bob's grandfather once told him, you do well in life by keeping the roots in a clear stream and not letting anyone taint the water for you. But in Holland's dusty little hometown of Deaf Smith, in the hill country north of Austin, local kingpin Earl Deitrich has made a fortune running roughshod and tainting anyone who stands in his way. Billy Bob has problems with Deitrich and his shamelessly callous demeanor, but can't shake the legacy of his passion for Deitrich's "heartbreak-beautiful" wife, Peggy Jean.

206 Bones: A Novel

There are 206 bones in the human body. Forensic anthropologists know them intimately, can read in them stories of brief or long lives and use them to reconstruct every kind of violent end. 206 Bones opens with Tempe regaining consciousness and discovering that she is in some kind of very small, very dark, very cold enclosed space. She is bound, hands to feet. Who wants Tempe dead, or at least out of the way, and why? Tempe begins slowly to reconstruct...

Wayfaring Stranger

It is 1934 and the Depression is bearing down when 16-year-old Weldon Avery Holland happens upon infamous criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow after one of their notorious armed robberies. A confrontation with the outlaws ends as Weldon puts a bullet through the rear window of Clyde’s stolen automobile. Ten years later, Second Lieutenant Weldon Holland and his sergeant, Hershel Pine, escape certain death in the Battle of the Bulge and encounter a beautiful young woman named Rosita Lowenstein hiding in a deserted extermination camp.

The Athena Project: A Thriller

Tucked away in a remote corner of North Carolina's Fort Bragg, behind rows of razor wire and heavily armed guards, lies the headquarters of the nation's most elite counter-terrorism unit - the United States Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta. Here, a brilliant new approach to combating terrorism has just been born. Its codename: The Athena Project.

The Lost Get-Back Boogie

Released from prison after two years for manslaughter, Iry heads to Montana for a fresh start on a ranch owned by a prison buddy's father. He also hopes to nail down a song he's been working on, unable to get quite right. But soon new troubles bring tragic consequences, and it will take a lot more than a soulful tune to ease the pain.

A Thin Dark Line

Terror stalks the streets of Bayou Breaux, Louisiana. A suspected murderer is free on a technicality, and the cop accused of planting evidence against him is ordered off the case. But Detective Nick Fourcade refuses to walk away. He’s stepped over the line before. This case threatens to push him over the edge. He’s not the only one. Deputy Annie Broussard found the woman’s mutilated body. She still hears the phantom echoes of dying screams. She wants justice.

Two for Texas

This James Lee Burke novel, featuring Son Holland - the great-grandfather of Burke's Billy Bob Holland - as he flees a Louisiana prison camp with a Native American woman and a fellow prisoner in tow, is now available in audio.

Play Dirty

Griff Burkett has a multimillion-dollar contract with the Dallas Cowboys. But at the end of his football career, deep in debt, a crime kingpin offers him a chance to resolve his loans by throwing a game. Griff agrees, and walks into an FBI sting. After serving time, he finds only closed doors. Then he is summoned by eccentric millionaire Foster Speakman. Speakman, a recluse since a car accident left him crippled, is impotent. Deadly consequences ensue when he hires Burkett to impregnate his wife.

The Tin Roof Blowdown: A Dave Robicheaux Novel

Dave Robicheaux returns in another Bayou adventure, this one more gruesome and gut-wrenching than any that have come before. Hurricane Katrina has ravaged New Orleans, leaving the streets and buildings flooded and the city awash with opportunists, looters, and vicious criminals. There is no order, no law. Police are shooting randomly at innocent people, prison guards have abandoned their posts, and bodies float through the streets and hang from trees.

Blue Labyrinth

A long-buried family secret resurfaces when one of Aloysius Pendergast's most implacable enemies shows up on his doorstep as a murdered corpse. The mystery has all the hallmarks of the perfect murder, save for an enigmatic clue: a piece of turquoise lodged in the stomach of the deceased. The gem leads Pendergast to an abandoned mine on the shore of California's desolate Salton Sea, which in turn propels him on a journey of discovery deep into his family's sinister past.

Swan Peak: A Dave Robicheaux Novel

Swan Peak finds Detective Robicheaux far from his New Iberia roots, attempting to relax in the untouched wilderness of rural Montana. He, his wife, and his buddy Clete Purcell have retreated to stay at an old friend's ranch, hoping to spend their days fishing and enjoying their distance from the harsh, gritty landscape of Louisiana post-Katrina.

A Cool Breeze on the Underground

Neal Carey is not your usual private eye. A graduate student at Columbia University, he grew up on the streets of New York, usually on the wrong side of the law. Then he met a P.I. who introduced him to the Bank, an exclusive institution with a sideline in keeping its wealthy clients happy and out of trouble. They pay Neal's college tuition, and Neal gets an education that can't be found in any textbook, from learning how to trail a suspect to mastering the proper way to search a room. Now it's payback time.

Pegasus Descending

A troubled young woman breezes into Detective Robicheaux's hometown of New Iberia, Louisiana. She happens to be the daughter of his friend: a friend he witnessed gunned down in a bank robbery, a tragedy that forever changed Robicheaux's life.

Light of the World: A Dave Robicheaux Novel, Book 20

In Light of the World, sadist and serial killer Asa Surrette narrowly escaped the death penalty for the string of heinous murders. But following a series of damning articles written by Dave Robicheaux’s daughter Alafair about possible other crimes committed by Surette, the killer escapes from a prison transport van and heads to Montana - where an unsuspecting Dave happens to have gone to take in the sweet summer air, accompanied by Alafair, his wife Molly, faithful partner Clete, and Clete’s newfound daughter, Gretchen Horowitz.

Dry Bones: A Walt Longmire Mystery

When Jen, the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found, surfaces in Sherriff Walt Longmire's jurisdiction, it appears to be a windfall for the High Plains Dinosaur Museum - until Danny Lone Elk, the Cheyenne rancher on whose property the remains were discovered, turns up dead, floating face down in a turtle pond. With millions of dollars at stake, a number of groups step forward to claim her, including Danny's family, the tribe, and the federal government.

More than 20 New York Times best-selling authors team up to create a first-rate serial novel -- a collaboration that combines the skills of America’s greatest storytellers to produce a gripping, spellbinding mystery.

Gathering Prey: Prey, Book 25

They call them Travelers. They move from city to city, panhandling, committing no crimes - they just like to stay on the move. And now somebody is killing them. Lucas Davenport's adopted daughter, Letty, is home from college when she gets a phone call from a woman Traveler she'd befriended in San Francisco. The woman thinks somebody's killing her friends, she's afraid she knows who it is, and now her male companion has gone missing.

The Diggers Rest Hotel

In 1947, two years after witnessing the death of a young Jewish woman in Poland, Charlie Berlin has rejoined the police force a different man. Sent to investigate a spate of robberies in rural Victoria, he soon discovers that World War II has changed even the most ordinary of places and people.

Publisher's Summary

Sheriff Hackberry Holland patrols a small Southwest Texas border town, meting out punishment and delivering justice in his small square of this magnificent but lawless land. When an alcoholic ex-boxer named Danny Boy Lorca begs to be locked up after witnessing a man tortured to death by a group of bandits, Hack and his deputy, Pam Tibbs, slowly extract the Indian man’s gruesome tale. It becomes clear that the desert contains a multitude of criminals, including serial murderer Preacher Jack Collins (whom The New York Times called “one of Burke’s most inspired villains”).

Holland’s investigation leads him to Anton Ling, a mysterious Chinese woman whose steely demeanor and aristocratic beauty compel Hackberry to return to her home again and again as the investigation unfolds.

James Lee Burke is at his engrossing and atmospheric best in this, his 13th novel, as Hackberry plumbs the depths of man’s inhumanity to man - from killers-for-hire, to the U.S. government, to the misguided souls in search of a better life across the border.

What the Critics Say

“[O]utstanding.... The richness of Burke's characters, always one of his strengths, reaches new heights.... The intricately plotted narrative takes numerous unexpected turns, and Burke handles his trademark themes of social justice and corruption with his usual subtlety.” (Publishers Weekly)

“As Burke steers the elaborately structured narrative toward its violent conclusion, we are afforded looks inside the tortured psyches of his various combatants, finding there the most unlikely of connections between the players. This is one of Burke’s biggest novels, in terms of narrative design, thematic richness, and character interplay, and he rises to the occasion superbly, a stand-up guy at the keyboard, as always... Though he is best known for his Dave Robicheaux series, the broader canvas of this Hackberry Holland adventure makes a fittingly grand stage on which to play out such a landmark event in American publishing.” (Bill Ott, Booklist)

“The dialogue scenes, along with the action sequences, the South Texas landscape and the indelibly conflicted characters make you want to give Burke a medal.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Most of the reviews I've read thus far, in spite of the disparity they contain, have valid points. I'll offer what I think is probably most helpful to someone considering this book: Burke is flat out a magnificent writer, his command of language, his artistic prose, his adeptness at continuity, and his strong characters. I don't know that anyone, besides Cormac McCarthy, can tell a such a raw story more beautifully, which is some feat when it comes to describing horrific gore and violence. But he does so in a disconnected slow motion way that makes it tolerable and crucial to the story. He does not seem to worry about abridgement--and why should he? People crave fast action, in-your-face stories, and Burke doesn't write for that market. He could be accused of filling the pages with, as one reviewer put it, "kitchen sink" characters and plots--so may be best enjoyed in small doses rather than devoured in a 16 hr. marathon. (*Possibly consider the abridged edition?) This is not fast food, but rather a dining experience. It is intense, rich, and can give you something like heartburn if you consume it all at one sitting; you need to walk away from this feast every now and then to avoid overload. The landscapes are so vividly described you all most choke on the dust, the characters, especially Hackberry (who ironically accuses himself of speaking too many "idle thoughts") is amazingly sculpted by Burke. This is not a book that will sit nicely in your head, but savored in bits is a great read. Will Patton is flawless in his narration, where in Rain Gods (previous novel about Preacher Collins) I thought his twang was heavy and distracting. If you know what your getting in for, I highly recommend.

"Lay Down My Sword & Shield," the book that introduced me to Hackberry Holland, was disappointing to this fan of the Dave Robicheaux series. "Feast Day of Fools" redeems both the author and the character.

In "Feast Day," Holland is some 40 years older, and much the wiser. He's a man of principle, which he wasn't in the last book. As repellant as he was, he becomes a sympathetic and admirable character.

The book moves at a good clip, and engages the listener immediately. I found myself rewinding to make sure I hadn't missed, or misunderstood, anything. The book tells a story that involves a vicious and demented serial killer, agents of a Mexican drug cartel, agents of the U.S. government, and a charismatic ex-CIA operative turned faith healer. The ending is surprising, and very satisfying.

Will Patton does a good job of narrating, although at times his accents got a bit jumbled. It didn't really detract from the book, but it's why I didn't give him 5 stars.

Do yourself a favor and spend a credit on this one. You won't regret it.

Another homerun by James Lee Burke. Story is amazing and you wont be able to stop listneing once you get started. Also, Will Patton is his usual smooth self narrating this book. Burke and Patton are a tough team to beat....there's no duo better than them.

Would you consider the audio edition of Feast Day of Fools to be better than the print version?

I don't know how to answer this question, as I never read the print version. I do want to expand on my view of Mr. Burke and his development over the past twenty-five or thirty years of writing. His gifts are remarkable. I never in my life wanted to visit Iberia Parish, Louisiana until Mr. Burke made me smell the bougainvillea. His ability to make you see, smell and taste the environment of his settings is unparalleled among contemporary authors. When Dave Robicheaux began spending his summers in the Bitteroot Mountains of Montana I was delighted to be able to live in that location for the length of those books. I found Dave R. and his sidekick Clete Purcell distinctly complex men, riddled with post-traumatic stresses from Viet Nam, by the ravages of alcoholism, and by their revulsion at how criminals had ruined the lives of the underclasses in Louisiana, and all over the South. Mr. Burke created amazing Southern Gothic characters, drawn from an imagination which apparently had no bottom whatsoever. I laughed and I cried, truly. I felt Dave's shame, his love for his two wives and for his adopted daughter Alafair, who is now in real life an author living in NYC and writing crime novels herself. Dave and Clete tried hard to bootstrap themselves above their personal tragedies, generally with minor triumphs but with the ferocious dark side always lurking in the end, waiting for another stab at Dave's heart.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I seem to have written a fairly long paragraph without even mentioning Hackberry Holland. Backstory, I guess. I was glad to see that Mr. Burke had branched out in such a serious way, particularly after writing twenty Dave Robicheaux novels. What a fountain he is! Hack is a very different guy from Dave, and the structure of this book is quite different. Minus Clete, plus Pam Tibbs. Minus Louisiana, plus the Texas-Mexico border. Unfortunately for us, I think, plus plus plus the relentless violence, as my fellow readers have pointed out. This issue has now gone way overboard and has now reached the baroque. When a particularly bizarre character gets nailed to a cross, then shot through the heart, and then set on fire in his own church by another over-the-top bizarre character: this is just about too too much for me. I understand that Mr. Burke has been exorcising personal demons through thirty years of writing, but, uh, maybe he might try some psychotherapy. Really. There must be a point at which there is just too much of this stuff. I would fully enjoy his books if at least half of the brutal violence were edited out, and maybe more than that. Mr. Burke's writing is still mesmerizing. He has not lost any of his talents. He should lose some of the senseless violence. I, as ad hoc president of his fan club, hereby say, Enough!

Have you listened to any of Will Patton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Luckily for Mr. Burke, Will Patton is there to pull his feet out of the fire. Literally. Mr. Patton has elevated these books beyond the fantastic to the simply exquisite (I am searching for adjectives here). I love Will Patton. He can do no wrong. I wish HE would tell Mr. Burke that there's too much violence.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

You can't possibly do that. It would make you retch. You need some time for your stomach to settle down.

I love James Lee Burke: his ability to create a sense of place is superb and I so enjoy his characters. In his latest book about Hackberry Holland, I could feel the heat, smell the smoke and see the sky. I`m not sure who I like the most, Dave Robicheaux or Hackberry Holland but I do know that I am never disappointed when I read a book about either one of them. The performance by Will Patton is wonderful - I can still hear his warm, sure, and wise voice in my head. Highly recommended.

I find Burke to be one of the best novelists in the suspense genre. His characters are flawed, believable and wonderful to discover. This book is one of a series about a sheriff of a small town on the Texas/Mexico border with a dark past, Hackberry Holland, but it is not necessary to read any of them in order.

Will Patton is a remarkable actor and the best reader I have encountered. He brings the characters to life and makes Burke's unique and eloquent prose a haven of pleasure.

No fair! 2 days before credits, and you release the new JLB. King of the simile, a writer so good you can smell the bait on the dock and feel the heat of the sand through the soles of your shoes. Mr. Burke is a true master, and Mr. Patton is perfect every time.
I resisted the impulse to buy it (without credits) for about 3 seconds.
In short, you had me at James Lee Burke.

With enough implausible, over-the-top villains to fill several novels Mr. Burke has gone too far, too often for this reader and that's just the start of my criticism of this ponderous tome. As I was unable to find the kitchen sink, I must not claim that there are too many fantastical plots and sub-plots in this one, but if boiled down the story could have been done quite well in one hundred pages, a la Cormac McCarthy.
Burke's insistence on flooding us with (brown) sugary poetic interludes at every turn is making his novels seem as wondrously unreal and out of control as an experience with powerful LSD. Life is simply not like that for most of us, that is, rich, opulent gilded images do not occur with the regularity of heart beats as we pass through life.
And dark, oh so dark. These folks are bad people and extremely unfortunate people and extremely disturbed people or angry, or horny or you name it; they are extremely it. And that gets more than a little tedious and one needs to come up for air occasionally.
And the plot get subjugated by all this munificent beauty and darkness.
The plot, oh yes, that. Far fetched and redolent of even more contemporary terror, it hangs in the background like a Edvard Munch nightmare, overwhelmed by the incessant images of degradation and premature burial and other unmitigated evil. It is all just too much.
Will Patton must have been suicidal after the experience, but his performance was by far the most constrained and professional element of this audible book.
Burke is a great writer but he may have gone to the well dozens of times too often with this one. It is not often that I have such a protracted nauseating visceral revulsion when reading an espionage thriller.
My God man, throw in something approximating normal occasionally so we can get a sense of where and who we are.

I really enjoy James Lee Burke, he has become one of my faborite authors. And, Will Patton is a great narrator. Burke has good insight into human nature and comes up with some colorful characters. He brings history into his stories and weaves a great tale. Most of his books have been about Detective Dave Robicheaux and they are great set both in Louisiana and Montane. Now, with Sheriff Hackberry Holland he writes about SW Texas along the border where the good buys and bad guys are going both ways across the border.

The one major complaint about James Lee Burke's novels is that they end. The writer continues his quest to personify evil. Across his pages come men (I can't remember any women) of iniquitous character and malevolent nature who take the listener's breath away as Will Patton transports them to your elbow. The Feast Day of Fools (great title) has it all: Sheriff Holland and his deputy Pam Tibbs, who have an unusual personal and professional relationship, fight against eclectic array of evil doers including the resurrected serial killer Preacher Jack Collins, a degenerate Russian arms dealer (perhaps the most evil of the lot), strange men named Krill and Negrito, another preacher, Rev. Cody Daniels and a multitude of other criminals. If that were not enough to keep the reader or listener glued to the pages or enthralled by Will Patton's marvelous acting, we encounter an Asian women, Anton Ling, with a murky past whose home is the conduit for starving Mexican workers and their families and finally Danny Boy Lorca, an alcoholic ex-boxer who arrives on the Sheriff's doorstep begging to be locked up.Enough said! Perhaps to add that this novel is about more than violent actions and evil men. It's an allegory about politics, religion, the environment, energy, the rich and the poor...

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Can't wait to hear more from this listener?

You can now follow your favorite reviewers on Audible.

When you follow another listener, we'll highlight the books they review, and even email* you a copy of any new reviews they write. You can un-follow a listener at any time to stop receiving their updates.

* If you already opted out of emails from Audible you will still get review emails by the listeners you follow.